


More Than a Beast

by CelesteShepard



Category: MindCrack RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 19:34:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesteShepard/pseuds/CelesteShepard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt and Zisteau became fast friends after UHC 7, and the pair have enjoyed an easy friendship. But when Zisteau finds his more animalistic urges starting to take over, and a foe emerges threatening to overthrow Guude and take control, their friendship is tested to its limits... And becomes so much more than it had been.</p>
<p>NOTE: This work is currently undergoing heavy revision and is currently unfinished. Expect no new content for some time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than a Beast

It was supposed to be a nice simple caving expedition. A break from all the usual drama on the server. Just the two of them, down in caves, gathering resources for their respective builds.

 

Before they even went down, they discussed how the would split the profits. Kurt hardly used redstone. He didn't really know how wiring worked, or have any particularly innovative ideas about mechanisms. He offered to just let Zisteau have it all. In exchange, Zisteau promised him some extra bits of the more valuable shinies. Diamonds and gold and such.

 

Once they'd hammered out an agreement they headed to a nice ravine Zisteau had dug into in his pinwheel mine. After scoping it out, lighting it up, and disposing of the native fauna (Which consisted mostly of dive-bombing creepers, skeletons on high ledges and the occasional spazzy enderman), they began the more tedious job of extracting the valuables, chatting idly about this or that while they worked.

 

"Guude and Bdubs haven't been making very many public appearances together." Kurt noted, extracting a vein of iron ore, about 5 meters away from the coal vein Zisteau was halfway through harvesting.

 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they aren't spending time together... And I think they're spending a lot more together than they're letting on." Zisteau grumbled. Something about the pair wasn't sitting right with him lately. He'd seen them meeting together in secret, even when just about the whole world knew they were a couple. It bothered him, but he couldn't say exactly why.

 

"Secret rendezvous at this point would be moot." Kurt may as well have read his mind. "So what's going on that they have to hide from the rest of us?"

 

"I don't know... But I don't like it." With a grunt, he climbed atop a block of cobble he had placed, then began to pillar up to the ledge above, and the vein of redstone there. "People keep secrets for a reason... And that reason usually isn-"

 

"WOAH!" Kurt interrupted, dodging an arrow that had come flying out of the hole he had punched in the wall. Quickly sealing it up again he panted, wiping his forehead as Zisteau leapt into the pool of water below, rushing over to Kurt.

 

"You okay? What happened?" After taking a moment to compose himself, he dug one block below the one he had placed and gestured for the Pigman to have a look. Kneeling to the side, lest an arrow catch him in the face, he peered into the darkness, noting the telltale glow of flame from a block resting atop some mossy cobble. If that weren't enough, the numerous skeletons around the cage rattling their bones angrily and glaring with eyeless sockets at the wall was more than enough to tell the nether-dweller that this was a dungeon.

 

Zisteau grunted as he rose to his feet, then sighed and leaned on the wall as Kurt plugged the hole again. "How do you wanna approach this?" Kurt asked nervously, looking to the more experienced (and far braver) caver for guidance.

 

After a moment of thinking and counting the blocks on their side of the wall. Zisteau nodded. "If you can draw their attention from this side... Open the hole back up and trade shots with them... I can get around the back, break in and take them out." He looked at a pool of lava farther down the ravine and cursed. "Too bad I don't have a bucket on me... Could take care of this real quick..."

 

Kurt swallowed nervously, obviously uncomfortable with his role in this plan. "We could wait a minute while you smelt down the iron for one..." But Zisteau was already shaking his head.

 

"No time. The longer we wait, the more we have to deal with. If we go now, we can take them out and disable the gate without much hassle or risk." Patting the Farlander on the shoulder, he grinned confidently. "Don't worry. You're a good enough shot, and quick enough to avoid theirs. You can do this."

 

Kurt swallowed and nodded, opening up the eye-level hole once more and readying his bow as the Pigman moved to the far end of the wall and began to chip away at it with his pick. Concentrating, and timing his shots, he managed to keep the bony undead archers focused on him as his partner dug his way above and to the back of the dungeon. Soon enough, he heard the sound of diamond on bone, rattling, and the twanging of bowstrings, along with the animalistic roars of a Zombie Pigman in the heat of battle. He grabbed his pick and pulled the rest of the cobble plug away, rushing in to take out the remaining skeletons and set enough torches on the ground and in the walls to keep any more of the undead monsters from passing through the gate.

 

When the place was lit, and the last of the creatures was no more than a pile of bones and arrows on the ground, Kurt sighed and turned to Zisteau to congratulate him on successful execution of his plan... Only to find something was terribly wrong. Zisteau was doubled over in the corner of the cobble room, grunting and sifting through some of the remains.

 

"Zisteau? Hey, you... you okay?" Kurt thought he might be injured, and they hadn't thought to bring potions or golden apples. They didn't believe there was much danger to be had. Panicking, Kurt placed a shaky hand on his partner's shoulder... Only to receive a massive backhand to the face as the nether-dweller turned and screeched in rage.

 

Terrified, the Farlander frantically tried to crawl backward, crying out in terror as his supposed friend turned on him... This couldn't be Zisteau. Calm, meticulous, artistic Zisteau. This was some feral creature wearing his friend's guise, some enraged beast with a lust for blood and destruction.

 

"Zisteau!" Kurt called, praying his friend was in there somewhere, or that he at least was somewhere else in the cave system, and this was a lone wanderer, lost and alone, far from its own plane of existence.

 

All at once, the enraged squeals of the Pigman stopped. Panting, a light of recognition came into his eyes as he stared at the man in front of him, afraid and cowering. He would never hurt him... So why was he staring up at him like this?

 

"Kurt? What happened? What's wrong?" He looked around the conquered dungeon, confused.

 

Still cowering in his corner, Kurt swallowed, unsure of what had just happened. "Zisteau? Is it... You?"

 

The Pigman snorted. "Of course it's me! Who else would it...?" He trailed off, seeing the angry red mark on the Farlander's face that was starting to swell and discolor. His throat went dry and a cold numbness swept over him. "Did... I do that?"

 

Kurt rose to his feet, dusting himself off. He didn't look at the Nether-dweller, but cleared his throat and mumbled something about "enough for today" and that he was heading home and he'd "drop off Zisteau's share in his chest at the hub".

 

"Kurt, wait, I..." Before he could stop him, his friend was fleeing the cavern, leaving Zisteau feeling sick to his stomach. It had been some time since he had let his more violent racial tendencies get the better of him around his friends... But this...

 

It was no secret that Kurt was fearful and skittish at the best of times, and the Nether-dweller could only imagine the damage he had done to their friendship.

 

Slowly, he made his way back to the surface and through the Nether Portal, seating himself in a minecart and pressing the button that sent it hurtling down the track toward the hub. Part of him hoped to catch Kurt before he exited the nether via the Spawn Town portal, but a more sensible part of him knew the Farlander was already back at the Observatory, probably tending his wounds... Wounds the Pigman himself had caused.

 

"Oh God... What have I done..." He murmured to himself in despair, holding his head in his hands.

 

"What have I done?"


End file.
